Campus Voice Posts

We would love to have you and your young adults join us at one of these upcoming retreats: October 30-31 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Hosted by Ann Arbor Baptist Church - Pastor Jonathon Barber December 31, 2020 - January 2, 2021 in Greeneville, Tennessee. Hosted by Eastside Baptist Church- Pastor David Fox April 9-10, 2021 in Greenville, North Carolina Hosted by People's Baptist Church- Pastor Tim Butler We are gathering young people together to: Grow closer in their relationship with Jesus Christ. Discover and settle what they believe and why they believe it. Participate in an environment of safe discussion about relevant topics and issues. Enjoy opportunities for lasting community. Get more info ®gister here

There is a pandemic growing in college age young people that is more deadly than COVID-19. Suicide is the second leading cause of death in college age young people, only behind unintentional accidents. Currently there have been 568 reported deaths of 15-24 year olds from COVID-19 in the U.S. while there were 6,211 reported deaths by suicide in 2018. The CDC released information recently that reveals a drastic increase in suicidal ideation. A study taken during June 24-30, 2020, discovered that 25% of 18-24 year olds have had suicidal thoughts which is significantly higher than the general population of 11%! Why? Why are 18-24 year olds struggling so hard that suicide is their only answer? While working in campus ministry, we experienced the reality of students each year dying from suicide and drug overdoses. One big reason we see is hopelessness. Our current world produces extreme stress and anxiety but offers no remedy. The fact that so many young people have been taught since kindergarten that they are here by natural processes thus their life has no meaning or purpose has tremendous implications in their daily lives. Viewing your life as an accident leads to a broken and hopeless generation! These numbers reveal the reality of a generation being captured by Satan and his lies. The biggest issue is that they need Jesus Christ! Right now there are numerous college students all around you that need the hope that is only found Jesus. They also need your friendship. These times are desperate but never more open for Jesus Christ to work miraculously in the hearts of our young people. I was a 21 year old lost young man who had no hope and tried to find it in everything the world offered only to come up empty and desperate every night. It was only until someone intentionally engaged me in conversation and shared the gospel that I finally found hope. This provided purpose and direction for my life. The challenge…will you and I step up to the need of the hour and intentional reach and engage college students with the gospel? Their lives both physically and eternally are depending on it.

Fall semester is coming rapidly! It is always an exciting time of the year with the energy and excitement of many incoming students. Each new year brings numerous opportunities for ministry. Unfortunately, Fall 2020 is feeling a little less exciting and more on the nerve-racking side as we try to discover and navigate the COVID-19 guidelines and how these will impact campus ministries. It seems that most campuses are mandating masks everywhere on campus. This will make engaging students in conversation very difficult. A couple schools we have heard from will not be allowing any inside or outside outreach events during the fall semester. Schools that are allowing weekly meetings have stated that room space will be limited in size and availability. Some schools are even limiting the amount of students that will be on campus. With these guidelines and all the unknowns, it is going to make ministry difficult this semester. The office of Dean of Students at one school stated that they are extremely concerned about the well being of students for this upcoming semester. They also expressed worry about being able to connect with these students in order to help due to all the distancing measures and fear students will have. As a positive note, this same office added that they are relying heavily on the campus ministries to reach out and interact with these students! One thing is for sure, ministry will be harder but more needed than ever! Student's hearts will be open in a way like never before. Do we just pause ministry for this semester due to the hinderances? No, difficult times force us to incite creative ways to continue doing what we are called to do. We have to get creative in engaging and reaching students! I do not have all the answers by any means. We are praying and thinking through different methods to engage the student body that we will share with you soon. What we do have as a network of CFC ministries is a resource to share and pool ideas together. Please let us know what you may be trying so we can share with others. I pray that we can truly seize this unprecedented moment before us to reach more college students for Christ!

Obviously, there is a major issue going on at college when we look at the 64% of young people who stop attending church during college and the 52% who will reject their faith completely at the end of 4 years. There are various reasons for this but one major reason is because of who is teaching our young people. So who is teaching our young adults at college? A study in 2020 conducted by the National Association of Scholars found that the ratio of professor's political affiliation is 8.5 (Democratic) to 1 (Republican). Other studies conducted have found the ratio of Democratic to Republican professors as high as 10:1 to 12:1. So who is teaching our young people? The research shows an overwhelming majority of professors with a Democratic affiliation It is interesting to note that the ratio for the average population is 1:1. Why such a vast difference on the college campus? Could it be because of the opportunity at college to strongly influence the young people of an entire country? Could it be that if you have an agenda this would pose as the best place to indoctrinate young people with it? The Democratic party has views that they endorse and promote such as abortion, gay marriage, and a humanist/secular worldview just to name a few. What views do you think these Democratic professors are going to push and promote to our young people? Exactly! All the more reason we must prepare our young people to know what they believe and why they believe it! The broad evidence is that conservatives and Republicans are absent from leading colleges around the country. This results in the liberals influencing and teaching the bulk of the younger generation. What is needed? Ministry to college students, to faculty and staff, and for godly people to become professors in our colleges! Ministry to college students is absolutely necessary! Not to have a ministry is to hand over our young people's minds and hearts to an opposing worldview and beliefs. View Full Research Article

We are excited to announce that CFC is kicking off hosting College and Career Singles Retreats. These retreats are for all young adults whether attending a secular college, a Christian college, or not in school at all. We are gathering young adults together to: Grow closer in their relationship with Jesus Christ. Discover what they believe, why they believe it, and where to find it in the Bible. Participate in an environment of safe discussion about relevant topics and issues. Enjoy opportunities for lasting community. These retreats will focus on biblical preaching, relevant sessions for both young adults and workers, insightful Q&A sessions, fun activities, delicious food, and much more. We would love to have you and your young adults join us. You can get more information or register at www.CFCretreats.com Fall retreat - October 30-31, 2020 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Winter retreat - December 31, 2020 - January 2nd, 2021 in Greeneville, Tennessee. Spring retreat 2021 - Dates & Location- TBA

Think of all the Christian young people who will attend a secular university this fall. Think of those even from your church who will go. How many will remain a believer at the end of four years of college? A study conducted a few years ago revealed that more than 52% of incoming freshman who identify themselves as born-again upon entering a public university will no longer identify themselves as born-again four years later! There was a similar pattern at secular private colleges and it was much worse at Catholic colleges with 63% rejecting their faith. Recent research continues to confirm these findings. When you relate these statics with those of young people walking away from church during the college years, we realize there is a real and dangerous problem. There is a major issue with a Christian student attending a secular college and keeping his or her faith. Why is this? One of the main issues we consistently see is students are not prepared. They are not prepared for the culture and philosophy of the school. They are not prepared to find a church on their own to connect with and serve in. Students are not prepared to navigate the freedom combined with the opportunities and influences presented at college. Students are not prepared with answers to the questions and rejections that are being posed to their faith. They are not prepared on how to handle meeting so many new people that have different views and beliefs about life. What can be done to change it? In our desire for students to attend a Christian college, we can lean towards ignoring and doing nothing to prepare those attending a secular college. What can be done to change it? We must prepare them! Purposeful strides need to be taken to prepare students for secular college. Resources are needed to address the culture, issues that will arise, and ways to navigate this new territory. Students need parents, youth pastors, and college pastors to speak openly and honestly about the issues that will arise at college. Preparing young people will allow them to act with forethought to these issues rather than react after damage has been done. Parents are needed to assist the young person in how to find a church and campus ministry to be a part of while they are in college. This is extremely important and needed! Students need accountability from people that truly love and care about them. The worse thing we can do is to try to ignore the issues the secular college will produce. While a large percentage are rejecting their faith, there are numerous students who keep their faith and come out even stronger! The secular college can be the fire that God uses to produce a strong Christian life and faith. Think about this...You could be a major factor in a student's life to keep them from rejecting their faith.

With all the negative stats and talk about the loss of 18-29 year olds in the church, here are some encouraging thoughts on those who remained plugged into the church. Through all the excellent research that Barna Group has conducted, this book brings to light what makes young people remain in the church. I highly recommend anyone working in college/singles ministry to grab a copy and dig into it. This book provides valuable insight into the why but also offers extremely practical ideas on keeping these young people plugged in, helping them grow in their relationship with Jesus, and in turn developing more young people to get plugged into the church and grow. You can grab a copy at Christianbook.com or Amazon